Garment-supporter.



No. 696,842. Patented Apr. I, I902.

G. H. PHELPS.

GARMENT SUPPORTER.

(Application filed Dec. 15, 1900.)

.(No Modgl.)

Uwrrsp STATES l a'rnwr Office.

GEORGE H. PHELPS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO GEORGE FROST COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

GARMENT-SUPPORTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters lPatent No. 696,842, dated April 1, 1902.

Application filed December 15,1900. Serial No. 39,995. (No model.) I

To (0% 1072,0711, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. PHELPS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Garment-Supporters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of garment-supporters known as gentlemens garters, which comprise a band adapted to encircle the leg of the wearer, a clasp adapted for attachment to the hose, and a suspending device, such as a cord, which connects the clasp with the band.

My improved garter comprises a clasp of suitable construction adapted to be attached to the hose, a suspending-cord for the clasp, and a band of novel construction for encircling the leg. This band has a limited elasticity or short soft stretch. It is formed with a comparatively smooth and well-finished or ornamental outer surface, while its inner surface is formed of coarse or rough material or of a coarser weave. A garter thus constructed is easily adjusted to the leg of the wearer and owing to the soft stretch of the band will exert only a very moderate tension around the leg, sufficient, however, to hold the garter in place, because the rough or coarse surface on the inner side of the band causes it to adhere to the leg without tendency to slip. The

features of this 'arter combine therefore, to

make it a very comfortable one to wear and still a garter which can be relied on to remain in proper position on the leg. Furthermore, when a tension is transmitted through the suspending-cord to the'band the tension will be communicated not through the entire length of the band, but only to the end portions thereof. If the band is very loose, it will of course be drawn moderately tight around the leg when its two ends are drawn toward each other; but after the band is thus adjusted to the leg any tension to which it may be subjected will cause the band to stretch for a short distance only at its opposite ends and not from end to end, as heretofore. This again lessens the tension of the band about the leg, adding to the comfort in wear.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a gentlemans garter embodying my improvements. Fig.2 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale and with parts brokenaway, of the webbing employed and showing the preferred manner of weaving it.

The clasp A may be of any preferred construction. The one shown is well known and extensively used and needs no specific description here. The suspending-cord B may be of non-elastic or of elastic material. Preferably it is circular in cross-section.

The band C is provided on one end with a hook 0, adapted to engage the cord 13 in the usual manner, and with a loop a, through which .the cord B extends. It is also provided with an adjusting-slide b, by means of which the normal size of the band may be regulated. These features just described are of usual construction; but the band C is of novel construction and cooperates in a new way with the other parts of the garter. It has moderate elasticity or a shortsoft stretch. The outer surface 00 is formed of comparatively fine material and may be ornamented,as shown, while the inner surface y is of coarser or rougher material. Thus the outer surface may be finished in silk, while the inner sur face may be made of cotton or Wool.

In Fig. 2 I have indicated one way in which the elastic webbing may be made. m indicates the upper warp-threads, and n the lower warps. 0 indicates the outer wefts, and p the inner wefts, while (1 indicates the threads of rubber. It will be observed that the two opposite surfaces of the web are formed of entirely separate sets of wefts. The rubber threads lie between the layers thus formed, while some of the warps are raised and lowered occasionally, as indicated at r, to bind the two layers or fabrics together, and thus form a closely-woven fabric, but at the same time preserving distinctly separate surfaces, and when the two sets of wefts are of different materials, such as silk and cotton, surfaces of different material will be produced on the opposite sides of the web. The moderate elasticity or short stretch is given the rubber in the process of weaving by stretching the rubber threads to the desired eXtent while the weaving progresses, and thus after the fabric is completed the rubber threads can be stretched to the extent to which they Were stretched While being woven.

I claim as my'invention 1. Agarment-supportercomprisingaclasp, a suspending-cord attached thereto and a band to which the cord is connected and which is formed to have a short stretch and elasticity sufficient only to cause the garter to cling to the leg without binding or producing an objectionable tension, and which has an inner surface of rougher or coarser material than the outer surface 2. A garter comprising a clasp, a suspending-cord attached thereto, and a band composed of webbing having its outer face formed of threads of one material, its opposite face formed of threads of rougher or coarser material which are bound to the threads forming the outer face, and elastic threads having a GEORGE I-l. PHELPS.

Witnesses:

LENA K. SHAW, DELIA S. PETERSON. 

